The Star.


    That was the Arcana Stefan Netherlore possessed.


    It could control motion. Up, down, left, right. Its influence on motion spread to that of gravity. It had an irresistible pull, an unstoppable push, and an unrivaled inertia.


    All in all, [The Star] was an ultimate tool in terms of attraction, repulsion, and stasis—a fine example would be how it blew up the Royal Capital in a matter of seconds.


    That''s right. Such was the power of an Arcana.


    *


    *


    *


    >VWUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMM!!!<


    A heavy feeling of gravity suddenly permeated the area, causing both Maria and Elrich to wince, bracing themselves as they resisted.


    Maria unleashed her Pope ability, instantly shielding both Elrich and her from Stefan''s influence. However, the moment she did this, Stefan appeared right in front of Elrich, with a ckened hand that oozed concentrated Nether.


    Elrich, whose mind operated over a dozen times faster than his body''s reaction, saw his opponent closing in on him and quickly chose to utilize his Arcana.


    ''U-uh?!'' Elrich''s eyes bulged the moment he realized something.


    ''Why isn''t… it working?!''


    One look at Stefan''s wide grin told him that the young boy knew what was going on. However, before he could find out—


    >SQUELCH!<


    Stefan drilled a hole through Elrich''s chest, going for an instant kill.


    "Guark!" Elrich, whom Stefan''s hand was now impaling, coughed out blood and shuddered with pain.


    "ELRICCCCHHHH!!!" Maria sped in his direction, but Stefan seemingly vanished, appearing a further distance from Maria, the Grand Mage still impaled on his hand.


    "Pathetic. I expected more from the Grand Mage of the Eastern Kingdom." Stefan grinned devilishly, as he slowly removed his hand from the Grand Mage''s chest.


    Elrich writhed and groaned as a result, his eyes turning bloodshot, while Stefan simply enjoyed the old man''s expression of pain.


    "I''ve destroyed your Heart Core. I''ve also infected your body with highly concentrated Nether. You won''t survive. It seems you thought that that measly protectiveyer of Aether could protect you, but… I easily went through it with a far more powerful amount of Nether."


    Elrich was grunting and groaning as Stefan spoke, while Maria did her best to strike him while he still spoke—all to no avail.


    ~Don''t do it. Don''t use it. Not yet…~ She heard a voice within her, and it prompted her to simply rely on screaming and pointless attacks to stop Stefan.


    "Hahaha! It''s no use." The enemy grinned at Maria''s sheer stupidity.


    "I''m much faster and stronger than you are. I don''t know how you resisted my Arcana''s ability, but it won''t happen again. Besides, with your Space Magic nowpletely out of the picture…" Stefan fully removed his hand from Elrich''s chest, leaving a gaping hole in its ce.


    No matter how one looked at it, the Royal Court Mage was going to die.


    *


    *


    *


    There was something not many people knew about in this world—the interaction between thews of existence.


    How did time interact with Space? How did Space interact with Gravity? Understanding these factors would have shown them the truth about what would happen when twows conflicted.


    As such, when Stefan and his enemies fought, thetter assumed that they had the upper hand due to the nature of Maria''s Arcana. But… could it not also have been the other way around?


    Gravity was the very glue that held space and time together.


    Once Stefan realized this about his power, he often wondered what it would be like if he created a highly dense gravitational field epassing an enemy who could use either space or time Magic.


    He didn''t leave this untested, though, as he sought the aid of the Cult. There, this theory of his was personally tested by Legris—of all people—who had the ability to teleport through his dark portals.


    And what would you know… Space Magic couldn''t properly function within a highly dense gravitational field. It would grow unstable and copse.


    Once he realized this, Stefan''s joy knew no bounds. He had finally found it… the power he would use toy waste to those who had looked down on him, acquiring even more power by doing so.


    *


    *


    *


    Elrich could feel his body turning cold, and his consciousness fading. He had been struck in both his first heart and his backup heart. As a result, he was going to lose his life very soon.


    Stefan''s attack had been a surprise to him. Perhaps he had miscalcted and underestimated the boy''s abilities. They hadn''t been the only ones holding back, after all.


    It was a shame his Grimoire couldn''t mimic any Nether ability, so he couldn''t be of much use in the fight. Sure, he had a few more cards here and there, but Stefan was either too fast or too strong to resist it.


    ''He really has grown very strong, hasn''t he?'' Elrich smiled to himself.


    Perhaps that was why he had allowed himself to get hit.


    Even though his body moved at a set speed, his mind was much faster. He had processed Stefan''s approach before the act had actually urred. Space Magic didn''t work, and Elrich surmised it had to do with the gravitational field Stefan set up.


    ''I''m such an idiot! Why didn''t I see it earlier?'' But it was toote. It was already in course.


    Elrich thought of various routes he could use to escape, and while he came up with one or two, he also realized something.


    ''I won''t have a chance like this again. The next time he attacks—which will most likely be immediate—I''ll be dead for sure.''


    As a result, he had to make a decision.


    Thus… he did.


    "U-urgh…" Groaning and ring at Stefan, he let out thest bit of his strength.


    "What are you doing? Still struggling to… uh?!"


    Elrich, despite the influence of the gravitational field, was utilizing his Arcana. The blue energy turned purple, and then ck, ever-expanding like a vortex, as it emanated from him.


    "W-what are you—? You can''t use it now, it''s destabilized."


    "E-exactly… When Space gets destabilized and copses, and yet gets bigger and bigger, an anomaly is formed. And… that anomaly is…"


    The vortex grew extremelyrge, appearing between both Elrich and Stefan, as it suddenly started swirling and twisting, forming a gaping ck void.


    "... A ck hole!"


    *


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    *


    [A/N]


    New book release announcement!!!


    Please look up Chuunibyou Challenge!! on Webnovel, or simply use the link below. I promise, you''ll love /book/chuunibyou-challenge!!_25760893305800205


    Cheers!